parochial clergy. In his last charge to his clergy in 1878 he expressed his opinion that the limit of the formation of new districts had been reached, and that future progress should be made by erecting mission chapels.
Bishop Baring devoted himself exclusively to the work of his diocese. He rarely appeared in the House of Lords or spoke on any subjects which did not concern his immediate business. He was unsparing of himself in his efforts to discharge his duties to the uttermost. He was, however, reluctantly driven to confess that the work of the diocese was more than one man could accomplish. In 1876 he admitted the necessity of dividing the see of Durham, and at his request provision was made in the act for the extension of the episcopate (1878) for the formation of a diocese of Newcastle.
Bishop Baring was a man of deep personal piety and of great kindliness. Though a wealthy man, he lived with great simplicity, and gave back to the diocese in donations for church purposes more than he received as the income of his see. His personal acts of charity, though done in secret, were very numerous. He was in theological opinions a strong evangelical, and in his public utterances he did not disguise the fact. Those who did not agree with him complained that in the discharge of his official duties he followed too exclusively his own individual preferences. He took a more decided step than any other bishop by refusing to license curates to clergymen whose ritual he thought to be contrary to his interpretation of the Prayer Book. This gave rise to much controversy, but did not impair the respect in which he was personally held. In 1877 the chief laity of the county asked him to sit for his portrait, which they desired to present to Auckland Castle. Bishop Baring, with a stern modesty which was characteristic of him, refused, and no portrait of him remains.
In 1878 Bishop Baring felt his health giving way. He laboured under a painful disease which he knew to be incurable. At the end of the year he went through the fatigue of an episcopal visitation, and immediately afterwards announced his resignation. He declined the retiring pension which he might have claimed, and preferred to leave the income unimpaired to his successor. He left his see in February 1879, and did not long survive his retirement. He died at Wimbledon in September following.
[Obituary notice in Durham Diocesan Calendar for 1880; Times, 15 Sept. 1879.]
BARING, Sir FRANCIS, (1740–1810), London merchant, founded the eminent financial house of Baring Brothers & Co. His grandfather, Franz Baring, was the pastor of the Lutheran church of Bremen; and his father, John Baring, settled at Larkbear, near Exeter, as a cloth manufacturer; and it may be well to add that information about the history of the Baring family, during its connection with Devon, is contained in R. Dymond's ‘History of the parish of St. Leonard, Exeter,’ 1873. Francis Baring was born at Larkbear 18 April 1740, and sent to London to study commerce in the firm of Boehm. Though deaf from his youth, his indomitable energy enabled him to overcome all obstacles, and to establish his business on the firmest foundations. At the time of his death it was calculated that he had earned nearly seven millions of money; and Sir Francis Baring stood forth, in the words of Lord Erskine, as ‘the first merchant in Europe.’ His advice was often sought on financial questions connected with the government of India. He became a director of the East India Company in 1779, and acted as its chairman during 1792–3—services for which a baronetcy was conferred upon him 29 May 1793. He represented as a whig the borough of Grampound from 1784 to 1790, Chipping Wycombe 1794–6 and 1802–6, and Calne 1796–1802.
Sir Francis Baring's literary works were: 1. ‘The Principle of the Commutation Act established by Facts,’ 1786; an argument mainly in support of the reduction of duties on tea and other commodities. 2. ‘Observations on the Establishment of the Bank of England,’ 1797; with ‘Further Observations’ in the same year, in which he justified the issue of Bank of England notes, with a limit as to the amount in circulation, and suggested that country banks should be prevented from issuing notes payable at demand. 3. ‘Observations on the Publications of Walter Boyd, M.P.,’ 1801. Sir Francis died at Lee, Kent, 11 Sept. 1810, and was buried in the family vault at Micheldever, Hants, 20 Sept. His wife Harriet, daughter of William Herring, of Croydon, died at Bath 4 Dec. 1804. Five sons and five daughters survived him. His eldest son, Thomas (1772–1848), second baronet, was father of Francis Thornhill, first Lord Northbrook [q. v.], Thomas [q. v.], and Charles Thomas, bishop of Durham [q. v.] His second son, Alexander [q. v.], was created Lord Ashburton.
[Gent. Mag. 1810, i. 610, ii. 293; H. Greville's Journals, ii. 53; Rush's Residence at London, 1845, i. 160; Didot, Nouvelle Biog. Univ.; H. R. F[ox] B[ourne]'s London Society, ix. 367–73.]
